"I think you should go and see Maggie," Carter said. He and Abby were sitting in her apartment, staring blankly at the TV screen. A sitcom was on, but neither of them was really watching it.
As Abby listened to the canned laughter, she thought, I wonder how many of them are really happy. I wonder how many of them are just laughing to hide their pain. Maybe some of them are having a good time now, but they know their lives at home are miserable, and this is just a short reprieve from the suffering.
She realized that maybe she was overanalyzing this sitcom.
"Abby?"
Abby jumped. "What?" she said. She hadn't realized that he was talking to her.
"I said I think you should go see Maggie."
Abby laughed humorlessly. "I think I have enough problems now without having to deal with Maggie."
"Abby, she's your mother. I know you guys don't really get along, but maybe you could help each other through this."
Abby thought for a moment. Could anything good come out of talking to Maggie? She thought about it, and realized it was worth a try. After all, he was Maggie's son too. Maybe they could help each other. "I guess maybe I could call her," Abby said finally.
"I already tried calling her. She's not answering."
"So what do you think, we should just go over there?"
Carter nodded. "Yeah. You need to see her. I think it would be good for both of you."
Abby thought about it. "I guess that might be a good idea." She paused, then said, "You don't have to come, John. I could-"
"I'm coming," Carter said abruptly. "I don't want you to have to go through this alone."
"Thanks," she said. "Even though you might not have a job when we get back to Chicago, thanks."
Carter smiled. "I think Kerry will cut us a little slack this time," he said. "So when do you want to leave?"
"As soon as possible."
"I'll call the airline."

Abby's teeth started chattering as soon as they left the airplane. "God, it's freezing out here," she said, pulling her hat down over her ears.
Carter shrugged. "After all these years living in Chicago, I think I'm immune to cold."
"Well, I'm not. Give me Hawaii any day."
Carter smiled. This was the first normal, casual conversation they had had since she found out. It gave him hope that maybe, one day, things could be normal again.
"Should we try and call her again before we get there?"
Abby nodded. "I'll call." She dialed her cell phone and let it ring ten times before hanging up. "Nope, still not there. I hope she didn't move or something."
They got in their rental car and drove to Maggie's house. Carter pointed to the driveway. "There's her car," he said.
Abby looked mad. "So she's home but she didn't answer?" Then she was worried. "I hope she's okay."
They walked up to the house and knocked on the door. "Maggie?" Abby called, peering through the window. "Maggie? Are you in there?"
Carter walked around to the back of the house. "Hello? Maggie? You in there?"
"You see anything?" Abby asked, meeting him on the side of the house.

Now it was Carter's turn to look worried. "No. I think we should go talk to the neighbors, see if anyone has a key."
They knocked on the doors of two nearby houses, but no one answered. "Let's go look for a key. I remember that Maggie used to always keep one on the porch somewhere."
They walked back over to the house and started searching the porch. After a few seconds, Carter said, "I found one!" He held up a gleaming key.
"Where was it?" Abby asked.
"Taped to the bottom of this chair."
Abby laughed. "Trust Maggie to put it someplace weird like that," she said.
Carter smiled. "Ready to go in?" he asked. She nodded. He put the key in the door, and they walked into Maggie's house.
"It's freezing in here," Abby observed. Her breath puffed in a frosty cloud in front of her to affirm her statement.
Carter cast a worried glance on the thermostat. It went down to fifty, and the needle was laying flat on its side. Carter figured it was about 40 degrees. "Maggie?" he called, walking into the house. Why was it so cold?
Abby wrapped her coat around her. "Something's wrong here. Her car's outside, but the heat hasn't been on in a while. What's going on?" she said in a trembling voice.
"Maybe she's off her medication," he said, though he prayed she wasn't. He had brought Abby here so Maggie could comfort HER, not vice versa. But it seemed that Maggie being off her medication was the best case scenario.
He held Abby's hand as they walked into Maggie's room. He was sure that, whatever was waiting for them in there, it wasn't going to make Abby feel any better.